VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — Jennifer Fischer reached out to 10 On Your Side with a heartfelt call for help because she can’t get a replacement for what was stolen from her.

Someone broke into her van Monday night while it was briefly parked outside her daughter’s house in the Windsor Oaks West neighborhood in Virginia Beach. She said thieves took her husband’s new smartphone and her purse, which was tucked away. But what was in that purse, is irreplaceable.

“You do that inventory in your head, what all was in the purse, you know, money, credit cards. Then I realized my mom’s ashes,” Fischer said. “I carried them in a heart around my neck, but they were in the bottom of the purse in a pouch along with a necklace, a cross, and a butterfly charm my mother actually wore at one time.”

Fischer told WAVY.com her mother passed away six years ago.

“I liked the comfort of having her that close to me, so somebody stole my guardian angel,” she said.

Fischer is begging the thief to come forward: “It physically makes you sick to your stomach to make you think that somebody has that,” she said.

Fischer said all she wants is her mother’s ashes back, and she’s willing to offer a reward. Fischer said police did lift fingerprints off the van. If you know anything about this crime, please call the Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP.